King Lear, Glasgow

As his recent revival of Betrayal proved, Dominic Hill's sideways move from Scotland's home of new writing, the Traverse, to Glasgow's Citizens theatre is already bearing fruit. It's allowing him to tackle some big, classic plays. And they don't come bigger than Shakespeare's story about a tyrannical king who loses his crown, his dignity and eventually his mind. It's a monster of a role and in David Hayman it's attracted an actor who is very much part of the Citizens' illustrious and colourful history. He's already played Hamlet on this stage, and now he'll offer a rare sighting of a Scottish Lear in a major production.

South Downs & The Browning Version, London

Alex Lawther PR

Chichester Festival Theatre comes up trumps once more with a fascinating pairing: Terence Rattigan's 1948 play The Browning Version, along with a new companion piece, South Downs, penned by David Hare. Both are set at public schools – Rattigan's in Harrow and Hare's in Lancing – and both duly summon up a world of cruelty, self-loathing and isolation relieved by unexpected acts of kindness. Rattigan's play concerns an autocratic classics master coming to the end of his career. Hare, meanwhile, focuses on a 14-year-old in 1962 who is set apart by his intelligence and humble background. Nicholas Farrell and Anna Chancellor lead both casts, Alex Lawther plays the pupil.

As part of the World Shakespeare Festival, the Globe plays host to 37 different companies performing in 37 different tongues. From the world's youngest country, South Sudan, a specially formed company does Cymbeline. From Ramallah in Palestine, Ashtar Theatre offers Richard II, while Richard III is performed by the National Theatre Of China. A highlight will be Lithuania's Hamlet, while Deafinitely Theatre offers Love's Labour's Lost – the first Shakespeare production performed in British Sign Language.

Shakespeare's Globe, SE1, to 9 Jun

MC

Of All The People In All The World, Stratford-upon-Avon

Comedy Of Errors PR

It's a big week in Stratford, as David Farr revives three plays with a watery theme: Comedy Of Errors, Twelfth Night and The Tempest. For Shakespeare lovers these should certainly be a draw, but even without the Bard it would be worth making the trip to south Warwickshire for Stan's Cafe's performance installation, an international hit which now takes up residence in spaces around the RST for the summer. It's a brilliant piece of work that, in using a single grain of rice to represent a single individual, makes statistics about the human population of the world come alive in startling and often shocking ways.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, to 31 Jul

LG

Further Than The Furthest Thing, Dundee

Further Than The Furthest Thing. Photograph: Jason Brown

James Brinning is heading to West Yorkshire Playhouse in the summer to take on one of the biggest jobs in regional theatre, and he bows out from a very successful stint in Dundee with a play that only premiered 12 years ago, but which already has the status of a modern classic. Zinnie Harris's drama – about the evacuation of the residents of the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, what they left behind and the struggles they faced on their arrival in an alien UK – was a major hit at the 2000 Edinburgh fringe and will be given a watery makeover in Dundee.

Dundee Rep, Tue to 5 May

LG

The Way Of The World, Chichester

Penelope Keith. Photograph: Catherine Asmore

Like Shakespeare's Beatrice and Benedick, William Congreve's Millamant and Mirabell are two of English drama's most witty and spirited lovers. But of course the path of true love never runs smooth, and in order to wed the woman he loves Mirabell must pay court to Millamant's vain aunt, Lady Wishfort, who wants her niece to marry Sir Wilful Witwoud. It's a delicious comedy, and amazingly one that flopped on its premiere at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in 1700, causing its author to retire from the theatre. But when staged well, it's an absolute treat, particularly the famous bargaining scene in which the lovers negotiate their individual rights within the marriage. Chichester favourite Penelope Keith follows in the footsteps of Margaret Rutherford to play the conniving and blinkered Wishfort.

Birmingham's biennial dance festival offers its biggest programme yet, with a four-week programme that ranges from contemporary circus to a new work for Birmingham Royal Ballet, choreographed by US dancer Jessica Lang (3 & 4 May). Headlining is PUSH (11-12 May, pictured), the emotionally and physically charged collaboration between Sylvie Guillem and Russell Maliphant. There are also several outdoor events, including Wings Of Desire (16-19 May), a mass-scale spectacle in Victoria Square inspired by the 1987 Wim Wenders film.

Various venues, Mon to 19 May

Judith Mackrell

Ballet Revolución, London

Ballet Revolución PR

Cuba is currently positioning itself as one of the world's most fertile seams of dance talent, producing classical artists of prodigious technical brilliance alongside virtuosos in hip-hop, salsa, martial arts and contemporary dance. Ballet Revolución is a company which promises to deliver all these styles in one energetic, eclectic package. Created by ballet dancer Aaron Cash, in collaboration with commercial Cuban choreographer Roclan González Chavez, the show is accompanied by a live medley of popular hits, from the likes of Shakira, Ricky Martin and Beyoncé, and promises to deliver an unashamedly feel-good display of stamina, sexiness and skill.